South Korea will extend its state employment insurance program to artists starting Thursday as the first step toward expanding coverage to all workers by 2025. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday that artists under work contracts who earn monthly income of at least 500,000 won ($460) will be eligible for coverage under the amended Employment Insurance Act. The amendment excludes artists with monthly income under 500,000 won to prevent those working as artists for reasons other

Korean authorities are on alert as the highly contagious bird flu quickly spreads across South Korea amid bird migration season. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Tuesday that a H5N8 strain of highly pathogenic bird flu was found at a chicken egg farm in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, late Monday. Officials began culling 193,000 chickens at the farm and 7,000 ducks at a nearby farm as a preventative measure. Gyeonggi Province imposed a standstill order for all poultry farms

Infamous child rapist Cho Doo-soon is set to be released Saturday, with controversy lingering as to whether he should be released and what the country should do to protect potential victims. Cho, who brutally assaulted an 8-year-old girl in 2008, will be released from prison Dec. 12 after 12 years in prison. It is not known which correctional facility he will be released from on that date, but he will be set free between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Upon release, Cho will be tracked at all times via a GP

A local court on Friday began reviewing whether to issue arrest warrants for three high-ranking Energy Ministry officials suspected of destroying documents about the controversial closure of the Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor. The Daejeon District Court on Friday afternoon started an arrest warrant hearing for the three officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This followed a request from the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday. The officials are under investig

Fear is growing among college hopefuls after Thursday’s national college entrance exam, as the coronavirus situation could hinder their chances of gaining admission to the colleges of their choice. Starting this weekend, a number of universities are kicking off written exams and interviews for early admissions. Universities are looking to recruit 77 percent of their new students for next year by Dec. 27. Konkuk University will have a written exam Saturday, followed by Sogang University,

Tens of thousands of college hopefuls sat the national college entrance exam Thursday, which could determine not only which universities they will attend, but many aspects of their future. The relentless resurgence of the COVID-19 outbreak brought changes to this year’s College Scholastic Aptitude Test, better known as the Suneung here, but some things have stayed the same. The usual scenes of crowds cheering in front of testing centers were nowhere to be seen Thursday morning, with st

Police were investigating Wednesday the cause behind a fire at an apartment in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, that left four people dead and seven injured a day earlier. Forensic officials conducted an on-site inspection of the apartment unit on the eighth floor of a 12-story building. It was under renovation and workers were replacing window frames when the blaze began, the Gunpo Police Station said. Authorities suspect flammable materials, such as urethane foam, may have caught fire and started

Tens of thousands of college hopefuls in South Korea will take the annual national college entrance exam Thursday, so important that many here describe it as one of the most pivotal moments in life. The College Scholastic Aptitude Test, or the Suneung, will begin at 8:40 a.m. at over 1,300 testing sites across the country, and will last until 5:40 p.m. Some 493,433 college hopefuls are to sit the marathon test. Coming amid a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections, this year’s Suneung is argu

As the second semester nears its end, a debate is being rekindled on campuses – should final exams be held in-person or online? While most universities leave the matter up to lecturers to decide, who appear to favor physical attendance to prevent cheating, students fear the risk of infection, as young people have been pointed to as potential silent spreaders of the virus. As the nation undergoes a third wave of coronavirus infections, the number of college students diagnosed with COVID

Police are investigating the death of an infant found inside a freezer at an apartment unit in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. The mother, 43, has been arrested on charges including child abuse and abandonment of a corpse, investigators in Yeosu said Tuesday. 　 It is suspected that the dead baby, a boy, was about 2 months old when he died and had been kept in the freezer since. He appeared to be the twin brother of the woman’s daughter, who is now 2 years old. Police say they were seeking

Former President Chun Doo-hwan on Monday received a suspended prison sentence for libel with regard to the massacre of civilians during the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. The Gwangju District Court found Chun guilty of defamation for comments he made about an activist priest who had shared eyewitness accounts of the bloody crackdown, which was led by the military virtually under Chun’s leadership, against pro-democracy activists in Gwangju. The court sentenced the 89-year-old former

South Korea on Monday entered the final phase of preparation for Thursday’s annual college entrance exam, to be held amid a relentless resurgence of the new coronavirus. Test papers and answer sheets started to be delivered to 86 local test administration authorities across the country Monday, according to the Education Ministry. Over 400 government officials, escorted by police guards, were to ship the test materials by Wednesday for them to be distributed to 1,381 testing sites on the

On top of the national fight against COVID-19, South Korea is battling a growing specter of dual animal virus outbreaks this winter -- the highly pathogenic avian influenza and African swine fever. South Korea on Saturday raised its alert for bird flu to the highest level of “serious” after a highly pathogenic bird flu virus strain was found at a duck farm in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province. It was the first outbreak of the virulent strain among farmed poultry in 32 months. The A

The largest umbrella labor group in South Korea is sticking to its plans to launch a general strike and nationwide rallies Wednesday, despite warnings from authorities about the COVID-19 situation. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said Tuesday that the one-day walkout will go ahead as previously announced, and striking members will take to the streets in small groups throughout the country. In the capital, rallies of nine people or fewer at various locations are planned in accordance

Level 2 social distancing measures were restored in the capital region beginning Tuesday, but Seoul has enacted its own, tighter rules through the rest of the year. In what the city government called an “emergency standstill,” nighttime bus service has been slashed by 20 percent from Tuesday. Starting Friday, there will be no subway operations after 11 p.m., an hour earlier than the current closing time. The changes in bus service take effect Tuesday, and the new subway hours sta

A local court ruled Friday to partially bar the prosecution from putting former President Chun Doo-hwan’s house up for auction as a means to collect outstanding fines. The Seoul High Court ruled that the prosecution could not take away Chun’s residence in Yeonhui-dong, western Seoul, in collecting fines, as the house cannot be verified as a property purchased with illegal funds. The prosecution will not be allowed put the house and its front garden up for auction. But the court did

UNICEF will direct $22.7 million in 2021 to aid projects in North Korea, where socioeconomic conditions are thought to be worsening due to the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Friday. According to the Humanitarian Action for Children 2021-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea report released Wednesday, UNICEF calculated it would need a greater amount than this year’s $19.5 million initial budget for North Korea when physical access is again possible next year. UNICEF originall

Hundreds of non-regular workers at Seoul schools launched a two-day strike Thursday, including many working in school cafeterias. Around 2,500 members of the Seoul branch of a coalition representing non-regular school workers were expected to join the walkout to demand changes to their retirement pension system. While many are cafeteria workers who prepare meals for students, the group also includes administrative staff members and child care workers responsible for after-hours programs. Th

Seoul and its nearby regions received unusually large amounts of rainfall Thursday, with the capital soaked in the heaviest daily rainfall of all November days on record. The Korea Meteorological Administration said 68.2 millimeters of rain fell in Seoul as of 8 a.m. Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 67.3 millimeters set on Nov. 7, 1916. Data compilation began in 1907. As of 9 a.m., Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and parts of Gangwon Province and South Chungcheong Province received rainfa

As fine dust returns with the arrival of colder weather, attention is paid to the possible correlation between air pollution and the severity of the novel coronavirus outbreak. While there is no concrete evidence, experts say long-term exposure to airborne pollutants is likely to increase the risk of dying from COVID-19, as they both affect the respiratory system. Some even suggest bad air could have an impact on the infection rate as well. “There are a lot of possibilities, as they bo